Knitting a Warm Shawl on Needles, with Charts and Explanations

Remember the words of the famous song: "Nature has no bad weather, every weather is a blessing…"? I think the author left something unsaid: every weather is a blessing if you are wearing an Orenburg down shawl!

In the old days, warm shawls were not taken off in summer, autumn or winter. This all-season quality is explained by the features of goat down: it keeps you warm in the bitterest frosts, protects you from damp and draughts in a rainy, raw autumn, and saves you from overheating on a hot day.

What a warm shawl consists of

How do you knit a shawl yourself? In this article we will reveal the main secrets – so, here is the shawl knitting chart. Let us start with the fact that a shawl consists of a centre surrounded by a frame, and an openwork edging.

Fig. 1

You can choose any pattern for the centre, depending on your experience. A shawl can be knitted either from down yarn or from fine yarn for lace knitting. Before starting work, carefully study the stitch glossary and the symbols in figures 2 and 3.

Fig. 2 and 3

Swatch and materials

First of all, knit a swatch of the chosen pattern: at least two repeats in width and in height. Bind off and stretch the fabric, preferably on a frame, so that the pattern can be seen. Like it? Then let's keep knitting!

Let's start knitting the square shawl. The size of the finished item after blocking is 106.5×106.5 cm. For our warm masterpiece you will need:

• 6 skeins of merino wool, 25 g each, in natural white;
• straight needles 3.5 mm thick;
• circular needles 80 cm long;
• a crochet hook size 4.25;
• cotton thread for a provisional cast-on.

Central part, square

First, crochet a chain of 150 chain stitches from cotton thread.

Second, on the straight needles pick up and knit 141 stitches. Then knit 10 rows in garter stitch (all stitches are always knitted, whatever the row). BUT: be sure to knit the first stitch of the first row, and after that simply slip the first stitch of each row purlwise with the working yarn in front. Finish with a WS row.

Next row (RS): Sl 1, knit to the end of the row; place markers – safety pins – after the first five and before the last five stitches.

Next row (WS): Sl 1, K4, purl to the last five stitches, knit the last 5 sts.

Bottom border

To work the pattern from the bottom and top border chart, on the next RS row knit 5 sts to the pin, then, as shown in the shawl chart, row 1 of the chart over the central 131 sts, and the 5 sts after it in garter stitch. Then knit the border according to the chart as shown, from row 2 to row 28.

Side border and central part

Begin the side border and central part charts on the next RS row: the first 5 sts as indicated, the next 19 sts – the first row of the side border chart, then a pin after these 19 sts. On the next 93 sts work row 1 of the central part chart – and again a pin. The next 19 sts follow the side border chart, the last 5 sts as indicated.

Then work rows 2 to 28 of the side border charts, then repeat rows 2–12, then repeat rows 13 to 28 nine times, and after that rows 29 to 40 once. In total, from the start of the side border to the central part, there are 168 pattern rows.

Top border

Now move on to the top and bottom border chart: work 5 sts on each side as indicated, and rows 1 to 28 of the chart over the central 131 sts.

Next row (RS): Sl 1, knit to the end.

Next row (WS): Sl 1, K4, purl to the last 5 sts, K5. Slipping the first stitch of each row, knit 10 rows in garter stitch and finish with a WS row.

Lace edging

Take the circular needles. RS facing: K1 (corner stitch), place a marker pin and knit to the end, increasing 41 sts evenly – 182 sts in total. Still with RS facing: pick up and knit 1 st (corner stitch) from the left edge, place a marker, pick up and knit 181 sts along the rest of the edge (about 3 sts for every 2 slipped edge stitches) – 182 sts in total along the left edge.

Carefully unravel the crocheted chain and place all the freed stitches on the straight needles – 141 sts in total from the cast-on edge. RS facing, on the circular needles knit as follows: K1 (corner stitch), marker, knit to the end, distributing the 41 increased stitches evenly – 182 sts on the cast-on edge. Still with RS facing: pick up and knit 1 st (corner stitch) from the right edge, place a marker pin, pick up and knit 181 sts along the rest of the edge. 728 sts in total: 182 sts on each side, with the stitch before each marker being a corner stitch.

Begin the lace edging with the corner stitch on the chart. Work round LR1 of the lace edging chart: * K1 (corner stitch), Sl 1, marker, yarn over, 18 repeats of the 10-st pattern, K1, yarn over; repeat from * three more times for the other three sides of the shawl – this increases 1 st on each side of each of the 4 corner stitches. Work LR 2–16 according to the chart; after completing LR9 there are 800 sts on the needles – 200 sts on each side. Join a second strand and loosely bind off all stitches with the yarn held double, knitting them together.

Shawl on needles: charts No. 4 and 5

Finishing the work

Gently hand-wash the shawl with shampoo in warm water. Pin it to a firm surface to form a square with 112 cm sides, securing each scallop of the lace edging. After shrinking, the finished item will become a square with 106.5 cm sides. When the shawl is dry, weave in the loose ends.

The item is ready – wear it with pleasure! And if for some reason your shawl did not work out, buy any one on our website: an Orenburg down shawl is one of those things that are not only pleasant to own but also useful and, above all, practical.